The real Glaswegian working class voice in the independence debate read by thousands, the BBC and other related media, secured the first criminal conviction against one of the seven top cybernats outed by the Daily Mail

Sunday, February 28, 2010

Corrupt foreigner, Anton Muscatelli, Principal of the University of Glasgow has welcomed the announcement of the Scottish Government to an increase in university funding.

More money for his staff to steal!

To show how senior management staff steal money and bully via their procedures, find it here.

Anton Muscatelli was one of the people who covered up criminal fraud at a publicly funded charity, he was at the time a Vice-Principal at the University of Glasgow.

His staff must be rubbing their hands with glee.

Scottish taxpayers’ cash!

There are only so many times that they can use their procedures to steal from ordinary working class Glaswegians.

At a time when others have to tighten their belts, one has to look back Glasgow University’s recent achievement.

As part of Glasgow University’s ‘rip off Glasgow’ policy, food prices on campus were found in a survey to be 50% dearer than Marks & Spencer on some items.

The difference between Glasgow University and Marks and Spencer is of course, quality, M&S prides itself on delivery of a quality product.

Despite financially raping their customers, it seems that Glasgow University has no problem getting out their begging bowl to ask for more.

They previously had a corrupt member of their staff on the Scottish Funding Council board, Peter Holmes, he also was involved in covering up fraud. He now serves in an honorary capacity as a senior adviser at the university.

Muscatelli said;

“The announcement, which protects university funding, is very welcome, as is the crystal-clear recognition made of the crucial importance Government ­attaches to universities.”

Even when so many of the senior management at the University of Glasgow are corrupt!

Friday, February 26, 2010

Relations between the Government and the judiciary were at breaking point today.

The judges in the Court of Appeal have reinstated a judge's criticism of MI5.

My words;

‘they are a bunch of lying bastards’.

Binyam Mohamed case is well known in which he was systematically and brutally tortured and the British Government knew what was going on and did nothing.

It is by far one of the most infamous torture cases in modern political history.

Lord Neuberger, Master of the Rolls, openly questioned the honesty of MI5 officers.

The British Government via the Foreign Office has been trying to suppress as much as possible their involvement coming out into the public domain.

Why are they so embarrassed?

Just the slight matter of Binyam Mohamed being innocent and not a terrorist!

Today, in the interests of "open justice", Lord Neuberger and two other top judges reinstated the paragraph, rewritten to make the criticism focus on the Binyam Mohamed case.

They also took the correct decision to publish the original draft text.

Human Rights Groups such as Amnesty International, Liberty and Reprieve are now calling for a full public inquiry into allegations that UK spy agencies colluded in toture during George W Bush's "War on Terror".

Labour Ministers have reacted badly to the Judges decision with Alan Johnson, the Home Secretary, saying that he was deeply disappointed by the court's decision to "criticise the Security Service in this way".

Given that ‘we’ are supposed to be fighting for democracy, law and order and to uphold the human rights of others, their position is somewhat bizarre to say the least.

Johnson added;

“We totally reject any suggestion that the Security Services have a systemic problem in respecting human rights. We wholly reject too that they have any interest in suppressing or withholding information from ministers or the courts."

So, why did they stand by while Binyam Mohamed was systematically tortured?

Why is the British Government spending a fortune suppressing the truth?

The Labour Government stood at the dispatch box at the House of Commons and continually denied Britain was aware of torture.

42 classified CIA documents given to MI5 show they were aware that Mr Mohamed was being continuously deprived of sleep, threatened with rendition and being subjected to "significant mental stress and suffering" while being detained by the CIA.

Tortured!

If the choice is between carrying on a one sided ‘special relationship’ with the Americans or upholding the human rights of an innocent, it is clear that the Labour Government seems to favour human rights abusers.

On January 27, 2010, it was reported that the "United Nations human rights investigators have concluded that the British government has been complicit in the mistreatment and possible torture of several of its own citizens during the "war on terror".

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCD) has issued new guidelines on the use of Holyrood facilities.

Politicians are not allowed to use the Scottish Parliament's restaurant for party political fundraising.

The announcement comes after the Corporate Body was asked to look into the matter when the SNP had auctioned lunches with Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon with the proposed venue being the restaurant.

The Presiding Officer Alex Fergusson has now written to all MSPs in order to clarify the rules but also stressed that the restaurant use is still eligible for some charity events.

He said;

Holyrood resources, including the restaurant, "must not be used for any significant party political purposes".

And added;

"To put the matter beyond doubt, this includes party political fundraising”.

So, everyone now knows where they stand on this matter.

A spokesman for the two politicians said;

"Mr Salmond and Ms Sturgeon are very happy to receive the clarification they requested of what is essentially a housekeeping matter for the Corporate Body on the use of the parliamentary restaurant. As far as charity lunches are concerned, this has been left a bit unclear, and we would hope that the Corporate Body takes a positive view on these as soon as possible."

Earlier in the week, Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon were informed that a Labour Party complaint against them had been thrown out by the Scottish Parliamentary Standards Commissioner Stuart Allan who said there was;

One Labour Councillor jumped right over another Labour Councillor’s back.

And another Labour Councillor jumped right over that other Labour Councillor’s back,

A third Labour Councillor jumped right over two other Labour Councillor’s backs,And a Labour Councillor jumped right over all the other Labour Councillor’s officers' backs.They were only playing Labour,They were only playing Labour,They were only playing Labour,

When another Labour Councillor jumped right over another Labour Councillor.

It is an adaptation of a Bruce Rowland composition but it rather highlights the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) under the control of the Labour Party.

The SPT is the Labour Party cash cow and travel agent in the West of Scotland.

Notably for funding Labour Councillors to attend Rangers Football matches.

Now as two Labour Councillors step down, they are replaced by two Labour Councillors.

So far three senior Labour Party figures have resigned because the issue of how the SPT operated.

The three resignations came after newspaper reports stated documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act showed a handful of top officials, including the Labour Chairman Alistair Watson, had claimed £117,573 in the three years between 2006 and 2009.

Then there was the meeting arranged to coincidence with Glasgow Rangers UEFA cup match in Manchester.

Labour Councillor Jonathan Findlay also attend this Rangers away match on a free ticket from Castlebrae Drainage, he is now chairman.

Findlay said;

“There is no hiding the fact that the last few weeks have been immensely difficult for SPT.”

So, will Findlay now receive three sets of money via the taxpayer, Glasgow Labour Councillor, employee of East Dunbartonshire Council and as Chair of the SPT?

This is on top of any free gifts that come his way via public office.

Findlay added;

“As chair, I am determined to refocus SPT on its core business - delivering for passengers across the west of Scotland.”

So, what was the previous focus?

Was it how milk the SPT as effectively as possible?

In trying to minimise what some many regard as corruption, Findlay is trying to paint a review by the external auditors KPMG as the ‘burning bush’.

The KPMG will be a whitewash, since the external auditors didn’t stop them before they are tainted.

Why is there not another external auditor appointed?

Why pick someone with a vested interest?

Is it to get the ‘right’ result?

The Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) is a busted flush, it should be destroyed and Transport Scotland should take over their responsibilities.

So the new chairman is a Labour Party member and the new vice-chairman is a Labour Party chairman.

Is that the 'change' agenda?

The Scottish Government should act, not wait, and not to allow them time to ‘reform’ but kill it stone dead.

The Lib Dems have said that the decision to arm police officers in Scotland with Taser stun guns should be taken by ministers.

At present the Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said the use of weapons, which fire a 50,000-volt electrical charge, was an operational matter for the police.

Although this maybe procedurally correct, this is a wrong decision.

The United Nations Committee Against Torture (CAT), an agency charged with overseeing the application of the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, arrived at the conclusion on November 23, 2007, that the use of the electric pulse Taser gun constitutes a "form of torture" and "can even provoke death."

It simply beggars belief that the Scottish Government can sit back and think this is none of their business.

If someone is shot in the chest by a taser it could lead to cardiac arrest and interfere with the rhythm of the heart.

At present Strathclyde Police are running a pilot scheme on the weapons in the Rutherglen and Cambuslang areas because of the high number of assaults.

The officers using these weapons are been given only three days training, this is not enough and nowhere near the standard of trained firearm officers.

Robert Brown, the Liberal Democrat justice spokesman, said;

"The first minister has also given assurances that police officers who are armed with Taser guns will be given the same amount of training as firearm officers - three days is clearly nowhere near the amount of training firearms officers receive."

In the debate in the Scottish Parliament, Kenny MacAskill said;

"To suggest that the government should be giving direction to a police force is something I would have opposed in opposition and would certainly not seek to bring in government."

So, if the Police decided that they wanted to use mercury filled dum dum bullets would that be okay?

Surely the logic of Kenny MacAskill’s position is flawed?

He added;

“The Lord Advocate is the "only person" who can direct police in criminal matters”.

I thought Kenny MacAskill said this was an operational matter?

You would think that issuing weapons that could cause death and with inadequate training would be a matter for Scottish Government Ministers.

The Government of Scotland is responsible for the safety and well being of communities.

This is a step backwards and at some time in the future, we will see in Scotland, the first death caused by a taser.

Here is a quote of mine from a recent post before the suspension of Dr. Adam Osborne written on Tuesday 16th February 2010;

“I would also think a six month suspension to give him time to reflect on his conduct is needed”.

The General Medical Council (GMC) has now returned a verdict on suspension.

It is six months.

Britain is a corrupt country, so how did I exactly predict that

1/ Adam Osborne won’t be struck of the medical register

2/ Adam Osborne would be suspended

3/ Adam Osborne would receive a six month suspension

It was fairly easy, Britain is interwoven with multi layered social networks, some call it the “establishment”, others call it the “old boy network” but whatever name you call, it adds up to one thing.

The social and power elite don’t operate to the same standards, they expect the ordinary citizen.

Adam Osborne had to be punished but why if he is part of the “network” by association?

Quite simple, the story came into the public domain.

Dr Osborne's legal representative, Christina Lambert QC, said she was unsure whether an appeal would be made against the ruling by Osborne.

I think we can safely assume that Osborne isn’t going to appeal the verdict.

There is no upside for him and with the General Election soon to kick off the last thing Osborne needs is a renewed focus on his "inappropriate" behaviour.

Alyson Leslie, chair of the panel, told Dr Osborne;

"The seriousness of your conduct is such that a signal must be made to you and your profession."

She wasn’t speaking to Osborne rather the public, if it was as “serious” as she claims he would have been struck off.

The GMC in my opinion is characterised by the fact that their self regulation is just a mechanism to protect their own.

Nothing extraordinary happned.

After the hearing Osborne said he was "disappointed" by the GMC decision.

If this is an attempt to play for the sympathy vote then surely Osborne must be deluded?

I would suspect he is laughing his head off; he effectively ‘beat the rap’, yes, he pays a penalty but let us not forget.

It’s a very small one.

In corrupt Britain, it is not what you know but who you know.

Just ask Adam Osborne, the brother of Shadow Chancellor and Tory MP George Osborne.

The Hetherington Research Club was for many characterised by it’s down to earth atmosphere, homely grub and low bar prices, it was a place that older members of the university who didn’t want to go to the QM and GUU.

Now, the Rector Charles Kennedy MP says he will speak to Secretary of the University Court David Newall to see what can be done to save the club and jobs.

I would think that Kennedy is wasting his breath talking to such a low life as Newall, I found him to be a wretched creature that has no qualms in assisting staff in stealing money.

I would therefore suggest that appeals to charity would fall on deaf ears.

You would think an organisation like Glasgow University so ready to steal the money of working class Glaswegians they must have accumulated a hefty wedge.

I cannot believe that I am the only person they have stolen from.

Another suggestion is why don’t they take some of the money from their Glasgow University ‘Rip off Glasgow’ catering facilities?

At the University following an investigation food and drink was recently highlighted as being more expensive than Marks & Spencer in some items.

Three full-time jobs and 20 part-time workers have been lost and you would think that as Glasgow University operate a business school they stick someone in to help save the business that operates at a loss.

The Hetherington club had no mortgage, rent, maintenance costs or council tax to pay, perhaps given that the university has produced creatures like Sir Muir Russell who let the Holyrood Parliament spiral out of control going from £40 million to £440 million; it isn’t surprising they decided to back away.

For the foreigner Anton Muscatelli currently holding the job as Principal of Glasgow University, it is another reminder of how lacking in talent his management is, can’t save a ‘tuck shop’.

Mamma Mia!

Muscatelli, sack two thieves Gilmore and Ommer and funds are available.

Yesterday Labour MP Jim Murphy was trying to corner the religious market for himself and the Labour Party.

Today that strategy has blown up in his face as the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland has accused the Labour government of conducting a "systematic and unrelenting attack on family values".

Cardinal Keith O'Brien, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland said;

“we have witnessed this government undertake a systematic and unrelenting attack on family values. This is a charge I personally put to Gordon Brown when we met in 2008 and I have seen no evidence since then to suggest anything has changed."

The intervention by leader of Roman Catholics is further proof of how ‘men of faith’ are rejecting the Labour message.

In East Renfrewshire, Murphy needs every volunteer he can lay his hands on to survive a credible Tory challenge.

And Murphy hasn’t been shy in holding meetings and bringing up the heavy hitters like Peter Mandelson in order to sell the pitch in the community.

Previously Murphy used the BNP as a scare tactic even although they don’t represent any kind of threat, he was using them as a glue to try and bond religious groups to him.

Cardinal O’Brien went further in his attack by accusing the Labour Government of "undermining religious freedom".

It seems that Murphy’s attempt to capture the religious market has been seen for what it is a sham, a crude con trick of an increasingly desperate man to cling onto power.

He will do and say anything to try and hold on to power, the election is now so close that the gloves are coming off.

With seemingly the Catholic Church against him, the list of potential helpers is rapidly shrinking.

I would say that if people are ‘of faith’ they have no business voting for the Labour Party.

The hundreds of thousands of dead littering the Middle East cannot speak, killed in Labour’s foreign crusades with America.

Those here in Britain have a duty to speak for them, even although they were not citizens of this country.

The verdict on Labour MP Jim Murphy is guilty.

The Catholic Church has spoken and taken a lead, it is something we should follow and ensure that Murphy is voted out of public office permanently.

It seems that the 'psychologically flawed' Gordon Brown faces more allegations to answer with his own Chancellor Alistair Darling saying that "the forces of hell" had been unleashed against him by Number 10.

The latest revelation following hot on the heels of ‘bullygate’ raise the impetus for an inquiry into Number 10 more credible.

The "forces of hell" started against Darling when he forecast the worst recession for 60 years in 2008.

So a question, why does Gordon Brown seem to surround himself with people who have previously been described as bullies?

The names are quite telling;

Ed Balls

Damien McBride

Charlie Whelan

Character as David Cameron has been raised as an election issue, so what does it say about Brown’s moral compass that he employs people such as these?

All that is required for evil to flourish is for good men to do nothing but more than that it seems that Brown is seemly unaware of the evil that swirls round him?

Doesn’t he read newspapers?

Doesn’t he hear radio?

Doesn’t he watch television?

Don’t his friends tell him what is going on?

Don’t his Party Colleagues tell him what is going on?

Doesn’t his wife tell him what is going on?

Is it possible that in a hi-tech 24/7 world, he never came across what his people were up to?

The revelations by Alistair Darling of “hell” add further weight to the Andrew Rawnsley book, The End of The Party which is available from all good bookstores.

Tory Leader, David Cameron asked a pertinent question;

"Why does his [Mr Brown's] moral compass always point to somebody else rather than him?"

The clock is ticking for the end of Gordon Brown’s ‘reign of terror’, maybe after he is defeated at the ballot box he will take the time to reflect on the evil he has done.

The last laugh is had by Darling when he said of Brown’s thugs;

"Frankly, my best answer for them is, I'm still here, one of them is not."

Now, 64% of British people agree with me according to a recent BBC poll.

And the results are bad for Gordon Brown personally, more than two thirds (69%) also think that the government has not done all it can to support British forces fighting in the conflict.

It is another indication of how the personal failure of Gordon Brown has cost lives.

Innocent lives!

Gordon Brown is no war leader.

The fight that needs fought in British politics is the fight to save British Troops lives by bringing them home.

At present domestic politics is losing over international politics because Brown and Cameron are in the pocket of the USA.

At present Operation Moshtarak is in full swing but although it can take ground in pitch battles due to superior firepower it cannot win the soul of the Afghan people in those areas.

Afghanistan is a war with purpose and without end.

63% of respondents to a BBC Newsnight poll agreed when asked if they thought that whoever formed the next government should commit to removing Britain's armed forces from Afghanistan by the end of 2010.

The Dutch Government has already collapsed over the issue of Dutch troops remain in the Afghan warzone.

The classic statement of the Vietnam War was Walter Cronkite who summed up the war as unwinnable; it is the same as Afghanistan.

He said;

“it is increasingly clear to this reporter that the only rational way out then will be to negotiate, not as victors, but as an honorable people who lived up to their pledge to defend democracy, and did the best they could”.

In January 2010, Gordon Brown at the 70-nation London summit on the future of Afghanistan said that mid-2011 should be the deadline for "turning the tide" in the fight against insurgents in Afghanistan.

The tide always comes back in.

Gordon Brown has lost the support of the British people.

Newsnight has a special programme on defence tonight, Tuesday 23 February 2010 at 2230 on BBC Two.

Make your own mind up, 69% have already come to the same conclusion that I reached, it is time to leave and save British lives.

She is facing concerted campaign to discredit her and her organisation.

Phil Woolas, the Immigration Minister, launched an aggressive attack on her by suggesting that she would be regretting her actions.

Is that a threat?

What does Woolas mean she would be regretting her actions?

Didn't the Labour Government state they don’t tolerate bullying?

So, why is a Minister of State issuing threats over the radio?

Woolas added;

“I think this attack on him by this prat of a woman down in - where’s she from, Swindon? - I think that’s backfiring on her."

Ed Balls, Brown’s ally said;

“I’ve known Gordon Brown for 20 years and at no point has it ever occurred to me that Gordon Brown is or would ever be a bully”.

Balls, himself was branded a bully in autumn last year.

Journalist Andrew Rawnsley brought the allegations into the public domain via his book, The End Of The Party said;

“What they have not denied on behalf of the Cabinet Secretary is that he had a conversation with the Prime Minister about his behaviour ... one person’s idea of a verbal warning could be another person’s private word.”

One thing I would believe is that Christine Pratt should watch her back, as Labour Minister Phil Woolas says; she would be regretting her actions.

It seems that the Labour Party has declared open season on this woman for speaking out that her organisation was contacted three to four times by Number 10 staff about bullying.

I can’t see Gordon Brown calling off his attack dogs as he didn’t do it with Tony Blair.

It shows how bad things are for Labour when a Government Minister of State should publicly threaten a woman.

The sooner Gordon Brown is kicked out of Number 10, the sooner the ‘years of terror’ can be put behind us.

The Obesity timebomb is ticking under the skin of the Scottish people.

The Scottish government has announced a plan to work with the food industry, business and schools to try to tackle Scotland's obesity problem.

The strategy sets out plans to control exposure to high calorie drinks and foods.

That will not work; leaflets didn’t work in the past and will not work in the future.

SNP MSP Shona Robison said;

"We cannot expect people to be able to change their behaviour alone as the environment we live in today means that for most people weight gain becomes almost inevitable."

The solution is to create a new type of culture of ‘Active Scotland’.

The ‘let’s hide the grub’ policy is pretty naïve.Part of the strategy is removing sweets from the till point in shops and increasing the range of healthier choices in convenience stores.

Is that a serious strategy, hiding the sweeties?

The way to tackle the obesity crisis is to increase the uptake of sport and exercise participation in conjunction with counselling sessions with face to face qualified professionals.

Give people opportunities to enjoy sport and exercise, provide proper facilities and get away that watching football is a viable option.With attendance comes knowledge and goal setting.

That leads to enjoyment and sense of achievement.

So a new strategy is needed that delivers on the ground.

There needs to be a massive increase in qualified fitness instructors and sports instructors to get people active and out.

Sportscotland should be revamped for a starter for ten.

It really is time that the SNP turned health and fitness into a flagship as has been achieved in the Health Service.

If we keep people fit, we reduce the burden of the Health Service, promote healthy living, build stronger communities and help individuals achieve their potential.

That cannot be accomplished without a serious strategy in place.

The Tories are throwing ideas into the ring such as Standard Universal Health Visiting Service for all families and children up to the age of 7, Labour and the Lib Dems advocate promoting increasing physical activity.

The Scottish Government strategy is ‘hide the mars bars’.

SNP MSP Shona Robison said;

"Obesity currently costs Scotland over £457m a year. If we do not address this epidemic now it is estimated that this figure could reach over £3bn a year.

So, how far back is the Scottish Government on this issue?

Labour MSP and pie eater Frank McAveety understands it and he isn’t the smartest tack in the box by any means.

Labour MP Jim Murphy is a desperate man; his fear of losing his seat at the General Election to the Tories in East Renfrewshire is very real.

A few months back he hit on a scheme to target religious groups under the banner, ‘Stop the BNP’ but in reality it wasn’t because the BNP represented a threat but because Murphy is struggling to get people to actively campaign in his area.

In the political economy, three things count, money, resources and manpower.

He has taken his idea slightly further and said that religion should play a role in British politics.

This is a complete nonsense and a smoke screen to start a recruitment drive for volunteers and votes.

The SNP have replied to this idea by saying this has all the hallmarks of "crude electioneering" to try to "corner the market regarding people's faith".

The Labour Party position before was set out by former Labour communications Chief Alastair Campbell who famously said;

"We don't do God".

The reason that Balir avoided talking about his religious views was fear of being labelled "a nutter".

We saw later that was exactly what Blair was, a religious nutter who followed George W Bush on the crusades.

At the end of his ‘War on Terror’ across the Middle East, Blair came back, retired and started coining in huge sums of money.

The use of religion is dangerous in politics, people should not elect politicians on what faith if any they have but on the person elected will do for them while in public office.

A spokesman for SNP leader Alex Salmond said;

"Politicians are fully entitled to declare their personal testament, as the first minister has done and indeed would encourage others to do so. However, it is quite a different matter to make any suggestion that a political party should seek to corner the market regarding people's faith. To do so would be absurd, unreal, and bear the hallmarks of crude electioneering, which would backfire rather badly”.

This is a cynical attempt to manipulate people of faith of political purposes and I hope that people see through this.

There is a reason why there is a separation of church and state, it was done to break down barriers and offer each person liberty to practice what faith they believed in.

Murphy yet again shows why the people of East Renfrewshire badly need to terminate his career in public office.

Religion should not be used as a power base in politics and that goes for all political parties.

Paisley, the fiefdom of what is laughing called the ‘Alexander brothers’, Wendy and Douglas.

As Paisley slid slowly downhill, Wendy Alexander was collecting money from commercial businesses and organisations outside the town centre.

Rather than standing up for Paisley, she was sitting back and letting the guts get ripped out of the place.

After all, she was staying in the trendy west end of Glasgow, just off Byres Road living a life of luxury far removed from the squalid conditions of decay as Paisley imploded.

Now, a £14million project to build 100 homes is set to transform a town centre, the project to transform Paisley is supported by SNP Renfrewshire Council and the SNP Scottish Government.

The Scottish Government is putting its money where its money is, the first phase has received £1.59m of funding from the Scottish Government.

Phase one is scheduled to begin in late spring 2010.

Alex Neil, Housing and Communities Minister, said;

“The Scottish Government wants to enrich communities by supporting initiatives that will make a lasting difference and benefit those who live and work there. Everyone involved in this housing development is to be congratulated for spearheading the transformation of Paisley.”

“One of the major themes of our regeneration strategy for Paisley is increasing the number of people living in the town centre. I’m absolutely delighted that work is now starting on this big milestone in our regeneration plans. The inclusion of affordable housing in the development mix is particularly welcome. Paisley is genuinely building for the future.”

But not an area that Wendy Alexander would consider staying, it is one thing to milk the Paisley cash cow, but moving into the barn?

Champagne Socialism only goes so far, there are limits.

So, where is Champagne Socialist Wendy Alexander?

Is she busy accepting donations from big business?

Is she at her trendy and expensive west end gym?

Is she travelling first class on a train to Holyrood in Edinburgh?

Who knows, one thing we can probably hazard a guess at is she isn’t fighting for Paisley.

The husband of Labour Minister Tessa Jowell has been found guilty of corruption

On February 17, 2009 an Italian court sentenced David Mills to four years and six months in jail for accepting a bribe from Silvio Berlusconi to give false evidence on his behalf in corruption trials in 1997 and 1998.

It was circa £350,000.

The stench of Labour goes even beyond the shores.

One of the companies that Mills help set up aboard on behalf of others dealt in supplying contaminated blood unfit for human use; this was revealed in a panorama documentary.

He is truly scum of the earth.

Mills now has an appeal in and because of huge political pressure they might because of the Berlusconi link not convict and overturn the sentence.

Mills should be put in prison.

An Italian source said;

“Convicting Mills would mean convicting Berlusconi and in Italy, when push comes to shove right at the top, people often get acquitted.”

Yet again, it seems that the political and social elite escape justice but perhaps the judges will be of sufficient character to let the verdict stand.

If the Italian Supreme Court upholds the sentence, three years would be automatically cancelled because of a government measure passed in 2006.

Mills would be required to serve the remaining 18 months and that should be in prison.

The fix already seems to be in as the Milan chief prosecutor’s office would not demand that Mills was jailed.

This is a mistake, the idea of Mills living a life of luxury in an Italian villa and popping out for some community service is completely wrong.

So, what happened to the £350,000 bribe?

It went to pay off a joint mortgage taken out by Mills and Tessa Jowell on their London home.

Labour Minister Tessa Jowell never checked were the source of the money came from, she just signed the papers.

Tory leader David Cameron has entered the ‘bullygate’ row that is circling psychologically flawed Gordon Brown.

In a move practically unheard of in modern politics times, he has taken the usual step of calling for an inquiry into allegations of bullying in Downing Street.

The remit of the inquiry would centre on the conduct of Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

In entering the row, Cameron has called for Number 10 and the civil service to "get to the bottom" of the "serious matters".

With head of a bullying charity confirming that Number 10 staff had phoned for help, this raises the prospect that independent people are prepared to speak out.

Even the Dems said claims should be "cleared up", but have stopped short of entering the row in the same manner as the Tory leader.

In trying to stem the row, Mandelson tried unsuccessfully to paint a picture of Brown as “demanding”.

It didn’t work.

The Labour Party machine then issued outright denials which prompted National Bullying Helpline's chief executive, Christine Pratt, contacted the BBC to say a flat denial sent out the wrong message and she would expect Downing Street to follow "due process".

It is telling that the Labour Party with a history of lying and misleading the public should pronounce in advance of any inquiry that Gordon Brown is innocent when the alleged victims haven’t been given the chance to speak.

What about the victims’ rights?

Is that not a New Labour mantra?

Mr Cameron is currently floating the idea that Sir Philip Mawer, who is in charge of policing the ministerial code, to be asked to look into this and to find out what has been happening and get to the bottom of it.

The Labour Party according to the Tories is now engaged in a smear campaign in order to dirty the water.

Lord Mandelson, said there had been no evidence of bullying at Number 10, adding;

"There is zero tolerance for bullying in the government as a whole, and certainly at the centre of government."

In a flash of brilliance the SNP Government has decided to set up a special body to a future referendum on independence.

Presumably they have woken up to the fact that Labour’s fifth column; the shadow government of NGO’s are not to be trusted.

By shutting out the Electoral Commission which is stuffed with Labour sycophants they are taking a necessary first step in order to restore democracy again.

Although the Electoral Commission has a statutory role to run referenda called by Westminster, it has no formal role in those called by the Scottish Parliament.

The new body is to be called the Scottish Referendum Commission.

In trying to force their presence into this purely Scottish matter, the Electoral Commission said that when the government sets out the referendum on full independence, it would "consider it and submit a response".

The decision to shut out the Labour controlled quango has upset unionist parties who have been quite blatant in accusing the SNP of trying to ‘rig’ the referendum.

Scottish Labour's Pauline McNeill said;

‘the "revelations expose how the SNP is trying to rig a referendum by getting round the rules".

Since the Electoral Commission do not have a formal role in Holyrood referendums no rules are being broken.

Yet again, it is more twisted Labour lies to keep Scotland as a country under English occupation.

Scottish Tory leader, Annabel Goldie, said First Minister Alex Salmond's "separation bill" was a "monumental waste of taxpayers' money and would fail".

Why the fear?

Why are so many unionists who allegedly promote democracy and claim it should be exported overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan wanting to deny the Scottish people their right to be heard?

Why is okay for an Afghani to be free and Scotsman not?

Goldie added;

"While the rest of the world is trying to get people back into work and create jobs, Alex Salmond is wasting time and money on a doomed referendum plan”.

This statement shows how desperate and unaware Goldie is, the fear of English control has kept her and her party hostage.

Couldn’t the Scottish Tory Party run an independent Scotland?

Couldn’t the British Labour Party (Scottish region) run an independent Scotland?

Goldie then went off in a rant by stating;

“"The Electoral Commission is there to be the neutral referee. By ordering the referee off the pitch, Alex Salmond is trying to avoid the scrutiny."

No, what I think is being said is saying is that the Scottish Government has no faith in an English controlled and English based organisation controlled by London Labour.

The SNP Government want a truly independent and neutral referee.

It will be Scottish people who decide Scotland’s future, not London Labour.

During the Glasgow North East by-election the Labour Party ran an emotive campaign on knife crime preying on people’s fears.

The same standard campaign was run in Greenock.

It was characterised by a simple concept that people are mugs to be used.

The general jist of their fear campaign was to put forward that anyone carrying a knife should be put in prison.

To that end and to front their disgraceful campaign they used victims and the families of those affected by knife crime.

Another important point of their fake campaign is that they were trying to put forward the proposal of ‘guilty until proven innocent’.

The SNP Candidate at Glasgow North East, David Kerr opposed such as a move as he said that sentencing should be left to the discretion of the judge.

After much shouting and publicity seeking the Labour Party brought forward an amendment to the Criminal Justice and Licensing Bill at Holyrood.

The amendment proves beyond a shadow of doubt that their campaign was a complete fraud.

In the East end of Glasgow, the Labour MSP Margaret Curran along with Frank McAveety are running the same bankrupt campaign to raise Curran’s profile.

Why is she treating the people of Glasgow East as mugs?

Money!

Curran faces loses her seat to boundary changes so will use any and every trick to try and unseat SNP MP John Mason.

Here is the Labour amendment they submitted;

10 After section 24, insert—(1) In section 49 of the Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995 (c.39) (offence of having in a public place an article with a blade or point), after subsection (5) insert—"(5A) Subsection (5B) applies where—(a) a person is convicted of an offence under subsection (1),(b) the offence was committed after the commencement of this subsection, and(c) when the offence was committed, the person was aged 16 or over.(5B) Where this subsection applies, the court must impose a sentence of imprisonment of at least 6 months (with or without a fine) unless the court is of the opinion that there are exceptional circumstances relating to the offence or to the offender which justify not doing so.".(2) In section 207(3A) of the 1995 Act (detention of young offenders: minimum sentences), after paragraph (a) insert—"(aa) section 49(5B) of the Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995 (minimum sentence for having in a public place an article with a blade or point);".

You should hone in on;

"the court must impose a sentence of imprisonment of at least 6 months (with or without a fine) unless the court is of the opinion that there are exceptional circumstances relating to the offence or to the offender which justify not doing so".

In essence it means that they have after all their shouting and fake outrage that knife crime is their number one priority have been found out that they are not changing a single thing.

The Margaret Curran knife campaign has nothing to do with justice; it has nothing to do with making people’s lives better and nothing to do with improving society or law.

It is all about keeping Margaret Curran on the gravy train, she has previously shown she is prepared to openly lie in order to seek public office.

She is a typical Glasgow University product.

When the General Election is called, the best thing that the people of Glasgow East can do is re-elect SNP MP John Mason and in that way retire her from public life.

The reason for it going to the wall is that the Dutch Labour Party, the second-largest coalition party oppose Dutch troops staying in Afghanistan beyond 2010.

They couldn’t reach agreement with the Christian Democratic Party who were supporting a Nato request for troops to remain in the country.

Originally the Dutch were to pull out in 2008 but no one stepped into fill the breech so that withdrawal fell through.

At present 2,000 Dutch troops are serving in Afghanistan, the death toll is light by the standards of other members of Nato, since 2006, 21 have been killed, however any loss of life is bad for the families it effects.

Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said after a 16 hour marathon set of talks that no common ground existed.

Balkenende offered the cabinet's resignation to the Dutch Queen Beatrix following the collapse of the government.

The Dutch have woken up to the fact that this war in Afghanistan is no winnable, and as much as people are going round in circles, the truth remains the same.

The problem is Nato’s deployment of an army of occupation.

Although the removal of 2,000 troops is not a military significant move, it is a serious political one.

The Dutch are the first but will certainly not be the last; the continual occupation of Afghanistan cannot be militarily or politically sustained.

Military operations like Operation Moshtarak can capture territory and kill some Afghanis but it cannot change culture, the pieces simply move around the board.

Time is not on the side of Nato.

As of October 2009, International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) had more than 71,000 personnel from 42 different countries deployed.

But few if any political objectives of any real significance have been achieved.

You cannot blame the stance taken by the Dutch; it is a wake up call for the rest of the Nato contingent.

You are not winning on any front other than by force of arms.

And that can’t be a sensible way to practice democracy.

The West has to find some way to impose an Islamic dictatorship friendly to them.

For that to work; a lot of people are going to die in the short term but it will knit the country back together again.

Gordon Brown is making an appeal to former Labour voters today to forgive his past mistakes.

He promises “A Future Fair for All”.

Have you ever heard such contemptible crap?

The Labour Party is the party of greed.

The Labour Party is the party of discrimination.

The Labour Party is the party of rich.

Despite so many relaunches the message keeps coming back from the public, they don’t like Gordon Brown.

Do we want five more years of self serving greed and discrimination?

The gap between rich and poor is at widest in 40 years and grows year on year.

Everything they touch is a complete mess from the economic to immigration, everything is a ruined.

In a recent interview the public were subjected to a teary Gordon Brown talking about his personal circumstances, has he ever attended the funeral of a British serviceman killed in either the Afghan or Iraq war?

Now, his back is to the wall and defeat looming at the ballot box, we get ‘the road to Damascus’ experiences from him.

Under Labour, fairness doesn’t exist, it is a sick joke that was bad first time round.

Being from and being brought up in the Labour ghettos of Glasgow, I despise the Labour Party.

Brown is admitting ‘mistakes’ but when pressed what mistakes he won’t answer.

He can cry and apologise as much as he wants, everyone hates him with passion.

Gordon Brown has turned Britain into a sewer, a country so corrupt and rotten that the term ‘broken Britain’ isn’t a soundbyte but a hardcore reality.

In England the choice is between a Tory Tory or Labour Tory, not much to choose from but we can all have the satisfaction of putting Gordon Brown out of Number 10.

We can all play a part in killing his dream of being returned as Prime Minister.

That is a little bit of fairness we can all enjoy.

In Scotland, the most important thing is to vote SNP, that way in a hung Parliament, Scottish people can have the pleasure of getting rid of him.

One thing Brown should remember is that there is no forgiveness or forgetting either.

Yes, that is what politics in part is about; throwing the goo and hope it will stick.

Down at the Labour Cash cow, Strathclyde Partnership for Transport, war has broken out.

As people in other parties are angry at how the SPT has been treated under the Labour Party.

They are publicly saying that the SPT must adopt a much more cross-party approach if it is to get over the crisis that has seen three senior figures resign this week.

This is the only sensible way forward and why it never realised in the first place isn’t a mystery.

I say greed is the problem.

The stricken quango has been used as a Labour Party plaything and they have run it into the ground that is why they were stripped of powers.

Stick enough donkeys in the same room and low and behold they will shit on the floor.

If public trust is to be rebuilt then the Glasgow Labour Party cannot be allowed to continue to run their monopoly of the top positions on the board and in the executive.

Since when did the SPT become the travel agent for the Glasgow Labour Party to take foreign junkets at the taxpayers’ expenses?

The Labour reply to the idea of opening up their SPT cash row has met with resistance by incoming Labour placeman, Councillor Jon Findlay.

He calls the idea of accountability and openness “naïve in the extreme”.

SNP Renfrewshire Council leader Derek MacKay, said;

“We need real openness and accountability at the top of SPT with a chair and vice-chairs from different parties and different authorities. That is a system that works in Cosla. There is no reason why SPT cannot do the same and I urge councils across Strathclyde to back this approach”.

Given the Labour Party brought this mess on themselves, you would think they want to want to respond to change but money is on the table and they aren’t giving it up.

Although not an SPT member, the Labour Party are determined to force Labour Councillor Jon Findlay through as new chairman-designate, they aren’t waiting for an SPT board meeting which speaks volumes about accountability.

The Glasgow Labour Party want to keep their cash cow and travel agent intact, it is a disgusting way to act.

I wonder will Findlay be presenting an agenda of travel so Labour Councillors can continue to support Glasgow Rangers.

I expect Findlay to do nothing but move deckchairs, this quango should be abolished by the SNP Government.

The Labour Party can save up for their holidays like the rest of the public.

David Strang is chief constable of Lothian and Borders Police, he has an opinion.

He believes that greater emphasis should be on tackling the causes of crime rather than just punishing the offenders.

Prison is necessary but it isn’t the be all and end all.

Strang is calling for prison to be used less; the fact is the prison system is cluttered up with people who shouldn’t be there when alternative punishments might work far more effectively.

The amount of people who are repeat offenders shows that the system doesn’t work.

We need to keep people out of prison and change their mindset and lifestyle.

This is not easy as we are dealing with people who have no stake in society; they have no fear of loss because society has effectively shut them out of employment, educational and social opportunities.

Strang, said;

“The real solution is actually in tackling the underlying causes of crime. It is about engaging with parents and communities, and recognising that in the long term that is what we need to do, rather than just sending people to prison.”

Solutions;

The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act needs to be rewritten

The DWP needs to be restructured

People need to be given a real and meaningful stake in society

I saw on panorama, the case of a boy in England who had been involved in a life of crime; he decided to change, his problem was his record which was an effective bar to employment.

But he wanted to change and make a fresh start, so he lied to get a job.

His reward when he was found out was that he was fired and up in court.

If the best that society can offer people such as him is menial jobs with no future then he has no reason to rehabilitate because he has no future.

It is as simple as that.

The SNP Government is trying to turn people around so that they stop repeat offending but it is not an easy task, the status quo is send them to prison, it is quick and requires little thought which explains why it is so popular with the Labour Party.

The mantra ‘tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime’!

Everyone locked up in prison places a burden on the taxpayer of £32k a year.

And society doesn’t reap much of a benefit other than a respite.

Mr Strang added;

“Police officers know that if you arrest someone and they get sent to prison, when they come out they will go straight back to shoplifting or whatever they were involved in”.

Since ‘tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime’ hasn’t worked, is it not time to be smart?